Early Childhood Development

Program Spotlight

Jerry Giraffe Early Childhood Program

Responding to the reality that one in three children in South Africa is sexually abused, the Jerry Giraffe program strives to build awareness and a strong foundation for children at the pre-primary level. Throughinteractive lessons, children learn through various methods such as participation, questions and answers, songs, games, chants, icebreakers, reading stories, and role-play.

Research & Evidence

Related Research & Evidence

This study is intended for home visiting program managers who want to understand the implementation challenges facing the workforce and learn how to overcome them. The country-level analysis and actionable policy recommendations in the study will be useful also for policymakers who want to improve the quality and scale of early childhood development services.

Background on Early Childhood Development

Every day, more children are making gains in health and learning after receiving early childhood development (ECD) interventions. Ensuring that “all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education” is now an explicit goal for the United Nations through 2030, but significant progress remains to be made to make quality early childhood programs accessible to all, including the poorest and most vulnerable.

The evidence base on the benefits of ECD is robust and growing. Less well known are practical examples of programs whose features have promise, especially related to ECD for disadvantaged children. The Center for Education Innovations (CEI) has identified more than 110 ECD programs implementing innovative solutions to improve both access and quality of ECD for the poor and marginalized.